A beloved Xbox Game Pass indie is getting an ambitious sequel

By Tomas Franzese Published August 6, 2024

A player in Descenders Next moutainboards. — No More Robots

Descenders, an indie sports game from RageSquid and No More Robots, is quietly one of the best games on Xbox Game Pass thanks to its engaging bike-riding gameplay and endlessly playable, procedurally generated levels. Now, it’s getting a sequel called Descenders Next that trades in biking for snowboarding and mountainboarding.

In Descenders Next, players can choose from a variety of handcrafted parks or procedurally generated level “nodes” across several different biomes. Players are then free to snowboard or mountainboard down the mountain, performing tricks and building up their reputation along the way.

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Descenders Next fully embraces multiplayer too, so it’s possible to play every level with friends. With its only real competition being Steep, Descenders Next looks like it will fill a disappointing void that currently exists in the extreme sports genre.

The developers are planning to offer many more customization options for riders and their gear, and the game will feature gear from unspecified “real brands.” Other promised features include an in-game way to edit gameplay, a reputation system tied to game progression, and a soundtrack by Monstercat. On X (formerly Twitter), Mike Rose, No More Robots company director, teased that Descenders Next will “start life with boarding sports, before adding more and more extreme sports over time.”

Descenders Next will be released on PC via Steam and Xbox Series X/S sometime in 2025. It will be available as part of the Xbox Game Pass catalog from day one as well, building off the success its predecessor found on the subscription service.

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A former Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese now reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

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